Eatonville Chapter Summaries

Summary
Janie and Jody arrive in a town called Eatonville, which is underdeveloped and mainly poor; Jody sees the potential for wealth and makes a big show of buying 200 additional acres of land from Captain Eaton. A man named Amos Hicks attempts to flirt with Janie but is completely unsuccessful, later Jody gets Lee Coker and Tony Taylor, chairman of the assembly to build a store of Jody while the town is cleared out and new residents are recruited. Jody is quickly named mayor and at his coronation Janie is asked to make a speech but Jody does not allow her, once again putting “a woman in her place”. Jody buys a lamp to put in town, it is a big hit and Janie wanted to spend more time with Jody but he refuses her still attempting to expand Eatonville. Jody and Janie grow apart and he forces her to work in the store but he dos not allow her wear her hair down while working. They live in a big two-story house that makes the
This quote surmises that power as well as that power structure. Jody has elevated himself to such a position that he treats the townsfolk like slaves; Jody is envious of that innate white power and has twisted his position as mayor to receive that same power. However, he does disprove the ideal that race decides one’s success in life. Once again Janie is trying to be forced into preexisting gender role and into submission. Cooker comments that not only do white people oppress black people but that black people suppress one another through jealousy and envy. These emotions and Jody’s statement “let there be light” are all allusions to the Bible. Once race is another thing that is important to Janie, she was with white people and in a way thinks of herself as such, when Jody is compared to white people she feels proud. Janie does not think that being white is the best thing but the idea of breaking boundaries, like her and her gender roles, is what is most